Carlos Alcaraz's clay court dominance continues with victory over Laslo Djere in Rome

Carlos Alcaraz continues his steady progress at the Rome Open after defeating Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(2), 6-2 in the third round of the tournament. The world No. 3 extends his good run on clay courts to 11-1 this season and will seek a place in the quarterfinals when he faces 23rd seed Karen Khachanov.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion has already achieved his best result at the Rome Open, as in his only previous participation back in 2023, he only reached the third round.

First Set

The closing match of the day had a hesitant start for Alcaraz, who conceded his serve in just the third game, and Djere managed to hold his serve to take a 3-1 lead. However, he couldn't impose himself too much on his serve, and as soon as he conceded an opportunity, Alcaraz leveled the score at 3-3.

With neither player dominating, at 5-5 Djere benefited from a net cord and an unforced error from Alcaraz, which gave him the break and the opportunity to serve for the set. However, the 22-year-old didn't let the set slip away so easily, and after generating four break points, he ended up forcing a tie-break.

After going 2-1 in favor of Djere – with both players holding their service points – Alcaraz went on a run of six consecutive points, easily taking the tie-break 7-6(2). The Spaniard had won 68% of the points on his serve compared to just 57% for his opponent. He also surpassed him in winners (8 vs 6) and had fewer unforced errors (6 for Alcaraz and 12 for Djere).